Taiwan's HTC Q4 net lags forecasts with 91% fall

TAIPEI - Taiwanese smartphone company HTC Corp's net profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 missed forecasts and plunged 91 per cent year-on-year as its models continued to be outsold by Apple Inc's iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's Galaxy range.

Unaudited October-December net profit was T$1 billion (S$42 million), the world's fifth-largest smartphone maker said on Monday, down from T$11.02 billion in the same period a year earlier and T$3.9 billion in the previous quarter. The company did not elaborate.

Eighteen analysts forecast a net profit of T$1.47 billion in the quarter, according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S survey.

Fourth-quarter consolidated revenue was T$60 billion. The company said in October it expected its revenue in the quarter to be around T$60 billion, compared to T$70.2 billion in the third quarter.

HTC shares closed up 0.35 per cent at T$T$288 before the earnings were released, while the broader market fell 0.65 per cent.